Blog Post #10

Do you think advertisers have a moral duty to avoid using stereotypes? 

Stereotypes In my opinion are generalisations of large groups, usually, they are distinct characterisations that have been made in the past, but have carried on into modern society. The majority of stereotypes are offensive to people, usually connecting with age or culture. However, the majority of popular advertisements use stereotypes which come sometimes come off as offensive, so why are they doing it?

I believe the most valid argument to why they are using stereotypes is to connect with an audience.  A large number of advertisements only have a few seconds to sell a product so if mention a stereotype they safe valuable time, which is money. Stereotypes are easy to connect with if we have experienced them or heard of them from the past, if specific products are aimed toward a specific audience, instead of saying directly who it’s for they indirectly tell it, using a stereotype. 

Furthermore, do the advertisers have a moral duty to avoid using stereotypes? In my opinion they do have a moral duty to avoid using stereotypes, however there end product is to sell a good to consumers, if using a stereotype easily identifies an audience quickly then they shall do what is best for the company, not there moral duty. 

Lastly coming back to whether advertisements can be offensive, I believe there is a boundary to the use of a stereotype . In a lot of modern advertisements, advertisers use stereotypes very indirectly, if the stereotype is easily identifiable by a majority of people, then the overall concept of implying it is not met due to the fact they are being extremely offensive.  

Blog #7 Reflection

What appeals did you use?
During our pitch we tried to use two main appeals effectively which were appealing to health and the need to feel safe. These appeals were all directed to the viewer.

Why did you decide to use them?
We used multiple appeals because we felt they were similar to acomplish however had different out come. The most important appeal which we used was the appeal to health, as our product was made from nutritious goods, we needed to make sure our consumer felt safe when tryongthe food. Secondly we used appeal to health, as our product was not made from actual beef, we need to assure our consumer that the beef tasted the same and appetising.

What main Rhetoricals devices did you use in your pitch?
Throughout my pitch I used three main devises which connected with ethos, pathos and logos. The devices which I incorporated in the pitch were, Rhetorical questions and the use of both experts and celebrities

Why did you use them?
My groups main idea was to try and connect with the viewer so they believed all our ideas. The way we embodied this idea in our pitch was by firstly using rhetorical questions. We felt when applying this technique properly, it would make the viewer feel guilty or sad,which helped us to try and convince them to buy it. Secondly the use of celebrities, we belived that if we used a person which the viewer was able to connect or the viewer liked, it would convince them that to be like this person they would need to go out and consume this product. Lastly we used experts because we felt that it made the viewer feel safer about our product.

How did an awareness of the audience and context influence your approach?
When understanding the audience it helped us to know how to connect with them, for example instead of using a western celebrity, we used a Chinese celebrity. The context also assisted our group because it helped narrow what devices were better to use and what we mainly had to focus on.

If you were to do this presentation again what would you do differently in terms of content?
The main ideas which I would change would be to talk in more detail about how effective the use of the specific rhetorical devices were, as well as focus on trying to connect with the audience.